Te Kura o Huriawa Thorrington

School Evaluation Report

Tēnā koutou e mau manawa rahi ki te kaupapa e aro ake nei, ko te tamaiti te pūtake o te kaupapa. Mā wai rā e kawe, mā tātau katoa.

We acknowledge the collective effort, responsibility and commitment by all to ensure that the child remains at the heart of the matter.

Context 

Te Kura o Huriawa Thorrington is located in the southern suburb of Cashmere, Christchurch. It provides education for learners in Years 1 to 6. The school’s vision is Ako tahi ai kia eke tahi ai tātou ki ngā taumata | Learning together to be the best we can be, underpinned by the school’s 4Cs qualities – Caring, Curious, Confident Citizens.

There are two parts to this report.

Part A: An evaluative summary of learner success and school conditions to inform the school board’s future strategic direction, including any education in Rumaki/bilingual settings.

Part B: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle.

Part A: Current State

The following findings are to inform the school’s future priorities for improvement.

Learner Success and Wellbeing

Learners are engaged and make good progress.

• Almost all learners achieve at or above expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics; Māori learners achieve at levels matching or exceeding their peers.
• Evidence indicates that learners have a strong sense of belonging, wellbeing and engagement and enjoy a wide variety of learning opportunities.
• Learners’ regular attendance is well above Ministry of Education targets for attendance.

Conditions to support learner success

Strategic leadership sustains a culture committed to high quality teaching and learning.

• Leaders and the board work collaboratively and strategically to ensure the focus is on learner wellbeing and progress.
• Leaders are embedding evidence-based review systems and processes to support continuous improvement for all learners.
• Leaders’ practice enables active collaboration across the school; staff share strengths, and learning progress discussions are facilitated for increased learner outcomes.

Teachers’ practices successfully respond to individual learning needs, interests and cultural identities.

• Leaders and teachers ensure there is an appropriate balance of foundational skills in reading, writing and mathematics, and meaningful learning opportunities across the breadth of the curriculum for positive learner engagement.
• Teachers are strengthening their use of learning data to individualise teaching strategies for each learner to make progress.
• Leaders at all levels ensure the design and delivery of a well-coordinated curriculum and consistent teaching in all classes to support success for all.

Conditions that underpin effective schooling are well-embedded and contribute positively to school improvement.

• Leaders and teachers prioritise targeted and sustained professional development to ensure the focus remains on successful strategies for learner progress and achievement.
• Positive partnerships between school and whānau, including with Māori, ensure whānau are active partners in their child’s learning; community voice is an essential part of the school’s planning.
• Teachers build trusting relationships with learners that foster their wellbeing and encourage them to seek help when needed.
• Leaders, staff and board demonstrate a strong commitment to growing their capability and understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in order to strengthen the school’s bicultural practices.

Part B: Where to next?

The agreed next steps for the school are to: 

• further strengthen the use of wellbeing and learning data to improve learning outcomes for all
• maintain the effectiveness and sustainability of reading, writing and mathematics programmes when updating the school’s curriculum in line with national curriculum developments
• further strengthening schoolwide consistency of inclusive teaching practices that foster learners’ pride and confidence in culture and identity and build on the school’s commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.

Within six months:

• conduct staff and learner wellbeing surveys to gather baseline data for planning next steps
• engage in staff professional learning to sustain culturally inclusive and data-based teaching practices
• begin to implement the national curriculum changes

Every six months:

• review and evaluate the impact of culturally inclusive teaching practices on learners’ engagement, achievement and wellbeing and respond to any emerging trends
• review, evaluate and respond to schoolwide reading, writing and mathematics data

Annually:

• review, evaluate and respond to learner and staff wellbeing data
• review, evaluate and respond to progress and achievement data to ensure the sustainability of outcomes and the wider curriculum
• report to the school’s Māori community on the success of the school’s actions to support Māori students’ sense of inclusion and achievement.

Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:

• further increased learner wellbeing
• further improved levels of achievement in reading, writing and mathematics across learning areas
• highly effective inclusive teaching practices that respond to learners’ cultures and identities and support the achievement of all learners
• sustained high levels of attendance.

ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a School Evaluation Report and is due within three years.

Me mahi tahi tonu tātau, kia whai oranga a tātau tamariki
Let’s continue to work together for the greater good of all children

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

11 November 2024 

About the School

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement.  educationcounts.govt.nz/home